My Fellow Countrymen: I Suppose That Every Thoughtful Man in America Has Asked Himself

WILSON AND THE PROBLEM OF NEUTRALITY - DBQ

DOCUMENT A

"My fellow countrymen: I suppose that every thoughtful man in America has asked himself, during these last troubled weeks, what influence the European War may exert upon the United States, and I take the liberty of addressing a few words to you in order to point out that it is entirely within our own choice what its’ effects upon us will be and to urge very earnestly upon you the sort of speech and conduct which will best safeguard the Nation against distress and disaster.
The effect of the war upon the United Sates will depend upon what American citizens say and do. Every man who really loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality, which is the spirit of impartiality and fairness and friendliness to all concerned. The spirit of the nation in this critical matter will be determined largely by what individuals and society and those gathered in public meetings do and say, upon what newspapers and magazines contain, upon what ministers utter at their pulpits, and men proclaim as their opinions on the street…"
Source:President Woodrow Wilson, August 19, 1914--Message to U.S. Senate.

DOCUMENT B –Source: excerpt from The Bryce Report (British government’s investigation into the 1914 “Rape of Belgium”)

About 400 people lost their lives in this massacre, some on the banks of the Meuse, where they were shot according to orders given, and some in the cellars of the houses where they had taken refuge. Eight men belonging to one family were murdered. Another man was placed close to a machine gun which was fired through him. His wife brought his body home on a wheel-barrow. The Germans broke into her house and ransacked it, and piled up all the eatables in a heap on the foot and relieved themselves upon it.

A hair-dresser was murdered in his kitchen while he was sitting with a child on each knee. A paralytic was murdered in his garden. After this came the general sack of the town. Many of the inhabitants who escaped the massacre were kept as prisoners and compelled to clear the houses of corpses and bury them in trenches. These prisoners were subsequently used as a shelter and protection for a pontoon bridge which the Germans had built across the river and were so used to prevent the Belgian forts from firing upon it.

A few days later the Germans celebrated a Fete Nocturne in the square. Hot wine, looted in the town, was drunk, and the women were compelled to give three cheers for the Kaiser and to sing " Deutschland Uber Alles”

DOCUMENT C

(How much American companies sold to those nations fighting in the war)

NOTE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS CHART AND THE BLOCKADE MAP BELOW.

DOCUMENT D

DOCUMENT E

DOCUMENT F – 1880 and 1910 U.S. CENSUS FIGURES

Consider this: Could these immigration numbers have influenced President Wilson?

DOCUMENT H

"On the first of February we intend to begin submarine warfare unrestricted. In spite of this it is our intention to keep neutral the United States of America. If this attempt is not successful we propose an alliance on the following basis with Mexico: That we shall make war together and together make peace. We shall give general financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in New Mexico, Texas and Arizona. The details are left for your settlement. You are instructed to inform the President of Mexico of the above as soon as it is certain there will be an outbreak of war with the United States…Please call to the attention of the President of Mexico that the employment of ruthless submarine warfare now promises to compel England to make peace in a few months.
Source:Note from German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmerman to German Ambassador to Mexico (written January 19,1917 in Berlin). Intercepted and released on March 1, 1917 by British Naval intelligence.

ANALYSIS WORKSHEET – Wilson and Neutrality Doc. Analyze each document in the packet and fill in chart below.

DOC. / Date / Author/
Source / May have kept the U.S. neutral
(explain why) / May have pushed the U.S. into the war (explain why) / Unsure or need more info
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H

Continue to answer the questions that follow………….

1. Which document may have had the greatest impact in pushing President Wilson into declaring war? Explain.

2. Which document may have had the greatest impact in keeping Wilson out of the war in Europe?

GROUP DISCUSSION: Do you believe President Wilson was justified in declaring war on Germany in 1917? (be prepared to support your views).